Bulgaria held ceremonies on March 10 commemorating the 70th anniversary of the prevention of the deportation of Bulgarian Jews to Nazi Holocaust death camps and honouring the memory of the victims from Northern Greece and Yugoslavia, while in Macedonia, commemorations were to be held on March 11 for the thousands of Jews sent to Treblinka.

In Sofia, ceremonies were held at Parliament, with mayor Yordanka Fandukova unveiling a plaque, and there was a commemorative event held at the Synagogue, with the ambassadors of Israel and several other countries in attendance as well as Jewish community leaders.

On March 10, Shofar awards were handed to the mayors of 12 Bulgarian cities whose residents and individuals had contributed to preventing Bulgarian Jews being sent to World War 2 death camps.

Maxim Benvenisti, president of the Shalom Organisation of the Jews in Bulgaria, said that the Bulgarian people should feel very proud of the actions to prevent the deportation.

“This was not just saving a single life, it was rescuing an entire nation,” he said.

Fandukova said that March 10 was a day that was a symbol of eternal values, courage and unity shown 70 years ago by a united Bulgarian people, including politicians, writers, public figures, representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and ordinary Bulgarian citizens.

“Seventy years ago, our ancestors showed courage and humanism and built one of the proudest chapters in our history,” Fandukova said.

The plaque at Parliament commemorates not only the prevention of the deportations but also the 11 343 Jews deported from northern Greece and parts of Yugoslavia.